What is something about you that people don’t know?
Depends which people! My close friends and family know literally everything about me, all the time. I’m not someone who holds things in. They know what I’m going through, what I want from my life, what I’m dreaming about, how much milk I like in my cereal (swimming). I love sharing and being vulnerable with people in real life but I’m not super online, so everyone else probably knows almost nothing about me! So I guess the thing to know is that's quite intentional.


What’s something you learned about yourself from starting a brand?
How powerful our intuition is as women when we actually listen to it. Fear and self-doubt are such a universal part of being human and starting Cou Cou has taught me the practice of moving through them. You really don't have to have "done it before." Everyone is just winging it. I also believe if you create for yourself, you really can't go wrong. With Cou Cou I just make pieces I love to wear every day and that make me feel good in my body, express that through a brand whose world I want to live in, and then hope it resonates with other women too.



What were you like as a kid? What made you want to start Cou Cou?
I was such a nature girl! I grew up in London but spent a lot of time in the countryside, climbing trees, running around barefoot. We used to go to this little island in the east of England where, when the tide came in, all the kids were basically set loose without our parents. It was like Montessori on steroids. So yeah, from the age of seven, I had this retreat and experience of total freedom, total immersion in nature that has somehow woven its way into the fabric of Cou Cou's philosophy.

As much as I loved to play, I've also always really needed peace and quiet. That's a part of myself I've had to learn how to care for as I've grown, through mindfulness, yoga and contemplative solitude, whether that's writing or long stretches of walking or hiking in nature.




Somewhere between childhood and womanhood, I think so many of us lose that completely embodied freedom. Suddenly we're concerned with being fill-in-the-blank enough… liked enough, pretty enough, smart enough, cool enough, confident enough, loved enough. The list goes on.




So Cou Cou in many ways is a wish for all women, including myself, to live from that part of ourselves. To be free, comfortable in the truth of who we are, strong and beautiful in our bodies and living in them rather than worrying about what they look like. To fundamentally be really present for our lives, to live from our deepest values and hopefully making an impact on the lives we touch.


What does a perfect day look like to you?
Nowhere to go, nothing to do, no one to be. Clear skies and my phone off all day. It begins waking up with my daughter Iris and park-hopping all morning until her nap, sometimes with a friend in tow. When Iris falls asleep in her pram, I love going to my favourite sushi spot and reading for the entire duration of her nap. It also includes a really long run or when I’m in LA, a really long (sometimes barefoot) hike.



What's always in your bag?
Multiple lip liners, lip balm and artichoke tea bags. I rarely even carry keys and sometimes leave my phone at home, yet somehow survive.


What’s something you could eat every day?
A Joe & The Juice spicy tuna sandwich. And not just could, I basically do. One day I realised I had accidentally dressed up as a Joe & The Juice sandwich in my Sandy jacket lol.



What song, movie or book feels very Rose to you?
Song: “Dancing With Myself” by The Donnas.
Movie: A Cinderella Story.
Book: Devotions by Mary Oliver or A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf.